bassfighter

I have never own a baitrunner reel and have landed tons of carp using a reel that has a good drag. However, one of my friend almost lost his $150 rod and reel setup while not paying attention and doing something else. I was standing 10 feet away when I saw the rod first fell down off the rail, then came back up again on its way out towards the water, by the time I was able to grab it, the reel section of the rod kind of got stuck on the rail, was able to give me split more seconds to grab it before completly losing it. This all happen within 5-7 seconds time frame. I heard about how people lose their rod during carp fishing, until I personally had witness how powerful this fish were, I would think twice of leaving my rod unattended. Hair rig is a must and easy to tie, more chance of hooking the fish.

Salmon in the 2 lb range? It has got to be a cute one! Too bad you did not have a picture of it, I pressume there will be more hanging in the same area. Were you fishing far from the shore? Surpise to know that Salmon are that close to the shoreline this time of the year, they might be feeding . I have a feeling there might be some big ones roaming around as well.

Interesting observation by JohnF, I never thought of that! You might be right, for those who are mediocre angler, and those traveling from a distance like many of our American neighbors south, they will think twice and have to plan their trip more efficiently. I just heard from the radio where they did some survey, they found out that some might just stay and not go on vacation this summer rather than going to the cottage country every weekend or they might have to cut down on the number of trips. In my case, I have decided to add another angler to my boat and share gas expense, I always tell my guest to release those fish that are too small or those that are too big. It is harder to coordinate 3 guys to go fish, but this is the sacrifice I have to make, to not to pay extra more for gas. Gas has gone up by 30% where the third fellow end up paying for it. I would also cancel some trips if I knew ahead that it would get too windy, where fishing will not be efficient anymore. Overall, my fishing has gotten way more efficient in the past two years. More quality fishing than quantity fishing.

If you are new, start with smaller lakes, it is just common sense, less place for fish to hide. Go to lebaron, they have some decent combo for $60. Invest in a use fish finder, to track down weedbed, once you found some weedbed or structure or shoal, stick to it for a while before giving up. Use jigs and grubs for they are cheap to use. Slow retrieve is the key. Use 8 lb mono line, to start with. It is cheap as well. As Babyherc mentioned from 6-12 feet deep to start with. Work hard! Cast and retrieve till you get the hang and the feel of what is underwater. Many times in life, hard work is one vital key to success! Try to hook up with other more experience angler here, they will be able to give you some tips. I don't think anyone in life learn it the easy way. You miss out, there weere tons more fish when you were young and easier to catch fish then. It takes dedication and passion to do well in this sport today. If having dinner is your main goal, you are better off buying the fish at your local market, saves you both gas, money and time. Having food on the table and being on a pleasant convenient environment is a bad goal to get into fishing!

I am wondering if the higher price of gas force many to take more fish home for food consumption? Though it is also our rights to harvest our limits. I hope it will help many of us aim to be better anglers so we can be more efficient and enjoy the sport more by catching and releasing larger quality fish. Has the higher gas prices change your thinking and angling strategy for 2008?

When the rain is just a drizzle the entire day with slight wind under 15 km/hour, fishing will be very good on under 8 ft of shallow water. When the rain is pouring practically the whole time and wind gets to 20 km and up, fishing will not be too good. When it is about to rain, clouds turn dark, and wind just builds up right after a sunny day, fishing will be good as well. 3 days of constant on and off slight rain during the day can be a good thing , as long as it is not a thunderstorm, that might scare off the fish and force them to hide deep. Tough decision to make, Check the wind forecast, and I would not let rain bother my fishing that much, under 15km wind go! Over 20 km wind, stay home! If the temp gets warmer at noon time, it will also be better fishing , and you do not need to wake up too early.

I tried this and it was fun, some of them were accurate, and some just depending on situations. This is a unique short personality test. There are only 4 questions but the results are quite interesting. I was kind of surprise by what some of my answers meant. Be honest and honor what pops into your mind when the questions present themselves. Just click on the following: http://memoriter.net/flash/test.html Let me know if it is close who you really are?

Carry different size Jig head. 1/4 to 1/2 oz is mostly used under 10 ft of water. Over 10 feet water you need almost 3/4 oz. Used 3" or 4" White grub for daytime or sunny day, black grub for dark and murky water. Other colors such as yellow, charteuse , brown, etcc, also works. Le Baron brand is the cheapest. Slow retreive is the key. How slow? slower than you think it is slow enough. I used stiff but Light rod and a 750 Shimano Symetre reel. The slow retrieve will also allow fish time to swim to it when they are at a distance. Jig and Grubs are the most cheapest versatile lures you can used, the key is controlling its action. With the cheap cost of the lure, you can fish confidently on tree stump or rocky bottom. Make sure to carry a good sharpener, you will need it every so often. I lost a 24-30" Musky few days ago, no chance of fighting it with a 6 lb mono. I though I caught a big walleye, felt more like a Carp, just heavy and did not want to surface, until I force drag it right close to the boat, the fish jumped right out of the air, it paniced and ran , my drag went spinning and then my line broke. Caught it using a 4" white Grub on slow retreive at 6 ft water close to weedbed. I used a six lb mono and no leader even if I target walleye, once in a while I will lose some of the toothy fish, but generally I will catch more fish. I do used braided line (at times with floro leader) if I am using other kinds of more expensive lures. 80% of the time , I am using Jig on Grubs. It is my magic lure. Once you master the feel, you will be able to sense the fish starting to hit the tail of the grub just before the fish completely swallows it. I normally wait for the fish to pull the lure before setting it. I have to be patient and wait for few seconds until I know for sure that the fish had taken it, and will reset it again after the fish is on. Bass have big mouth and the grub/lure is very small. The slow retrieve might not necessarily set the hook deep when the fish initially takes it, therefore one needs to reset it again. Pros use heavier line for they do not have time to play with the fish or the possibility of losing the big one. I want to enjoy the fight , therefore a lighter line one can feel everything.

I did some research once and there are accessories to add to our regular foot control trolling motor so we can use our hand to control it, they cost roughly $150.

TOO many divorce happening in North America. In other culture, people get married because they are commited to it first, and love comes afterwards. While in North America, people get married for many wrong reason and expectation, if they fall out of love, they don't need to stay married. Our society also promotes divorce for it is good for the economy. Everything is doubled from housing to cars to expenses. Avoid Divorce Lawyers if you can, or go to a mediator, this will save you a tons of money . Go to the net and search for a mediating lawyer. I do not know how long you were married for, but I survive the first 5 years of storm. My wife and I road it out, and it has been 17 years since we got married, and nothing can rock us again. We are very close today, and my wife knows that fishing and tennis is good for me, and I always appreciate her in everything she does for me. I still see my wife as being the same beautiful lady I first met her. I can say today that if one can ride out the storm , the sun is always shinning at the end of the dark clouds. Even if there are other physical beautiful women around, I would think twice about trading my wife just by mere charming women. Loving someone is a choice, wanting to love someone takes effort. We are all selfish human beings, and we love only things that are convenient to our lifestyle. We always Love for the wrong reason. We love junk food which is not good for us and we hate excercising for it takes hard work. Spiritual and Moral issues is not part of relationship building these days, our society believes that we can do anything we want and there are really no set guidelines on how to live the right way. Anything goes and there is no absolute right or wrong anymore. Marriage is just like any other business contract, in worse scenerio, we can file bankruptcy and still get protected by the law while others gets burned by some fraudulent action. In the old days before paper money or gold had existed as a means of payment, Someone is given the title a "Gentleman" for he has earned the rights to own a piece of land. Before he earned this title, he has to establish proper credit. A local grocery clerk will loan this person some seed for plantation, the farmer promise that once he has harvested his crops, he will in turn pay back number of times the seed that he had borrowed. Every transaction was through hand shake and word of honor. In a small town, good and bad reputation spread fast. After numerous successful transaction and can take years to accumulate. Others will vouch for this person and give the Title that this Gentleman is good for His word. A Gentleman is of the highest honor and the Title is earned. Their yes means yes and their no means no! I rode the storm because I promise to my wife, to our parents, to my God, for our future kids sake as being a good example, and my reputation as a Gentleman. It also take my wife and I to believe in the same values. It takes two to create unity, inspite of us being very much diverse. My wife is a city Gal and I am somewhat a country guy, but opposite do attract, it can work! I came from a third world country where many men are still the boss, while my wife was born in Toronto and she believes she can also be the boss. We both have to go through challenges in life to prove and disprove that no one is the boss, except God. Most women are generally a responder, what we thow at them, comes back at us. I also learned from other successful marriage that it is better to lose as many battles as we can afford, as long as we can win the war at the end.

I already have a prop protector attached to my skeg and it works great, especially every blue moon I hit submerge rock on slow speed. Can't help hitting them on unfamiliar territory, even if I tried to be cautious. Few times it happens and nothing wrong with my prop. Some people says that the skeg protector do eats some gas on high speed Its there a way to protect the nose of the lower unit? I was hoping that there would be some kind of rubber material that we can glue on it to absorb some shock when the lower unit hit some rocks.

You normally get what you pay for, unless you have been a lucky guy in years. Many old boat are free to take, and you have nothign to lose. If you are a retired handy man, nothing is impossible. Making sure the boat is balance is another issue to ponder on. Old boat tends to retain water on their Flotation Foam, the floor is not good. IF you pay around minimum of $3000 you should be able to get a decent package of boat and motor.

Only way to know is to use a test meter, check if it is the battery or charging system, if nothing wrong , check the color of spark plug, is it burning properly, if not replace it and try again. It could be one of the coil or could be one of the power pack. Good luck

GO FIGHT IT IN COURT IF IT IS NOT TOO FAR. AND PLEAD GUILTY WITH AN EXPLANATION IF IT HAS TO GO TO COURT. NORMALLY THEY WOULD REDUCE IT, The Cop HAs to do his job, but he is not there to rip people off, chances are he will not show up. If the cop is not there, you are off the hook. I had a $45 ticket once for not having enough padel, decide to fight it and when the time comes and I reach the Arbitration, he was confuse why a padel and I said it was for a boat, he asked me how much I want it reduce. I was kind of Dumbfounded, and said $25, he said go pay for it at the cashier.

Thanks for the report. Water sure warming up fast, the weeds will be growing up soon and better fishing is yet to come. Anyone tried swimming on the water yet? With the heat we are getting in couple of days, who has tried so far? We are planning to head out tomorrow monday and wind forecast will be calm and temp a little bit cooler. We will cross our finger and hope the fish gets more active then.

Thanks for the feedback. I was assuming if I go down with 15 pitch Aluminum, the Rpm might go up and reach close to 5500 RPM on full trottle. However, I am not sure if higher RPM means more fuel efficient. I normally do not run my engine that high on full speed, I just want to make sure that the prop size is right for my application.

Should lower RPM be more efficient than higher RPM? Our vehicle will run more efficient on 2500 RPM than on 3500 rpm.

Go to Lebaron and you might be able to find some decent stiffer rod for under $40. Some Daiwa brand are only under $25. Good for any fish under 10 lber to start with. If you are using artificial lure and crank bait, the stiffer the rod the better control you get. The lighter the weight of your overall equipment , the more you can feel and control your artificial lure. YOu can also prolong the moment of the fight and feel the fish weight more using lighter equipment and line. While a heavier equipment rod might land the fish way quicker , where the pros do not want to waste their time playing with the fish. Ugly Stick, is made of fibreglass material on its tip and has its advantage, if you are using natural bait, you will be able to see the fish pulls the tip of your rod a lot faster due to its flexible head, while A stiffer rod might force the fish to spit out the bait due to too much drag. Fibreglass is stronger, therefore can take more abuse, but way heavier. While Graphite material is lighter, less flexible, a sudden Jerk beyond its breaking point, would damage its stranded fiber. I am surprise Shakespear, ugly stick, brought back the old technology as a marketing strategy, the name is also very catchy. I play tennis and Golf, Equipment and materials used today are practically almost identical to fishing rods. The lighter and rigid the material used in today's equipment, the more power, control and feel it can generate. Graphite are abundantly available and cheap to use these days. IM6- IM7 seemed to be even lighter than the earlier Graphite material. Old fashion made equipment which has more fibreglass tends to be more heavier, the equipment cannot generate the speed and control that Graphite equipment provides. Graphite material used to be expensive 20 years ago. Titanium is one of the lightest material use in today's sports equipment, some recreational players can generate power using this type of equipment. However, the pros still would prefer some kind of weight to generate power, and shy away from Titanium made equipment. Titanium is still expensive and not too popular in fishing Rod. For catcihing Bass and walleye on weedbed on shallow water, you need more control- GO with stiffest lightest Rod within your budget. For river fishing using Float technique, you need more longer flexible rod with more than average number of guides. IF you are using cranks bait, then you need a Rod with some back bone. Fishing is not a cheap sport these days, to target the right fish effectively, you need specialize equipment for particular species. It is more important to find the fish, and if they are active, one can probably catch one using a Bamboo stick. This was how I got into fishing back then!

I own an 85 hp evinrude and the manufacturer recommend running from 4500-5500. I am using a SST prop 13 .25 x 17 " pitch on my boat and it seemed fine running at 5000RPM on top speed. I need a spare prop, and can only afford aluminum made prop. Should I Use the same size or next size 13 3/4 x 15" to almost match the same RPM without having to go through trial and error on four different prop ? Does any of you own the same size prop in stainless and aluminum? how much of a difference is the RPM on top speed using the same size pitch but one is SST and the other is Aluminum? I am more concern at higher RPM to move from one spot to another on a lake. SKiing with faster acceleration is not a priority/important . Thanks for any input

Unfortunately Kawarthas Park charge $20 for boat launch? I called them Too pricey for any kind of boat launch. Any other suggestion

Thanks for the feedback or report. Niagara or lake Eire is still 55 degrees

I am just wondering what is the surface water temp at any Kawarthas lake. Any lake such as Rice lake, Balsam, Stoney, Bukhorn, etc...... will be fine. I can assume they are almost the same temp at this time of the year. Has it gone up past 60 degrees Thanks for any feedback

Maybe it is a good idea to take the eggs out of there and tranfer it on a box, making sure that there are adequate sand and warm temp. This will ensure that they will survive and you get to see them when they get hatch, it will also pevent the coons from eating them. Even if they were able to hatch on its own in the wild, their chance of the coons eating them is high. Coons can even sniff the eggs in the next few evenings, they have a keen sense of smell. I would do that and then release them into the water , you might be the surrogate parents once they see you first!

Successful people are normally successful in more than one ways. Cliff = PASSION! PASSION! PASSION! Keep it up , it is contagious!

Were you guys using a float for those channel cats or let your bait sunk at the bottom? I pressume you guys were using worm or other live bait to catch all of the species mentioned.